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NBD - Birthyear Precision

kbakerde

Supporting Member
Jan 24, 2012
3,013
4,695
I have toyed with the idea of getting a vintage bass before. I bought an ‘80 4001 several years ago but didn’t keep it. I purchased a ‘75 P but the seller backed out. Had it for too long and didn’t want to part with it. Last year I was wanting to pick up this all original ‘74 P, but didn’t want to pay full price. Tried haggling but the seller wouldn’t budge. Eventually someone did. This time though, everything went through and I think I have a good one.

1978 Fender Precision, Wine Red Transparent finish with an all maple neck. Best guess is the body, neck, pickguard and pots are all original. The bridge that came in it was original too, but I swapped for a Badass I had lying around. Pickups are not original, but seem to be vintage Dimarzios. Tuning keys are fender stamped, but seem way shinier than the rest of the hardware. So I’m saying they are replacements. I got one of the original knobs; the other had been lost, this the modern aluminum knobs. Which I dig. And lastly; the nut is likely not original, as it’s a brass nut.

So, this is a vintage bass. In fact it’s a birthyear bass for me, so adds some sentiment to it. But this is not a collector piece; it’s a player. And play I will! Just put new Lo Riders on her; set her up and we are opening for Sponge tonight. It’s a good day.

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Update: So to refresh, I purchased the guitar earlier this week and received the bass on Friday afternoon, just before leaving for dinner with my family. Then today, I put on her a new bridge, new strings, set it up and ran through our set through headphones.

So biggest show this and has played, and I go in with a bass I’ve never even used at practice. What can go wrong right? Well in the case of this bass……..absolutely nothing. It played like a dream, and sounds like absolute thunder! I know I’ve said this before, but I don’t see this going anywhere.
 
Congrats on your bass !

Wine transparent red is a completely different color that what’s in your pictures. Yours almost looks like mocha or root beer, I can’t really see the red.

It’s defiantly not mocha brown. It is red, but it’s pretty dark, and it photographs very dark and almost brown. I’m guessing due to the finish darkening with age.